Reception Star vs Halaxy

Genuinely simple pricing. No credits to decode.

Halaxy has a genuine free tier. Here's an honest look at what it costs in practice, and how Reception Star compares for solo allied health practitioners in Australia.

Halaxy's free tier

Scheduling, patient records, invoicing, and online bookings at $0/month. Real and usable.

What the free tier doesn't include

×SMS reminders — purchased via credits, billed per message on top
×NDIS compliance and claiming modules
×Advanced automations and workflows
×Priority support — free tier gets standard only

With Reception Star, SMS reminders are built in — you pay 33¢ per appointment when a reminder is sent. No credit system to manage, no bundles to pre-purchase.

Cost comparison: Halaxy free tier + SMS

Most solo practitioners need SMS reminders. On Halaxy's free tier, that means buying credits.

Your week	Halaxy free + SMS	Reception Star
5 appointments/wk	~$4/mo	~$6.60
15 appointments/wk	~$12/mo	~$20
25 appointments/wk	~$20/mo	~$33
40 appointments/wk	~$32/mo	~$53

Halaxy SMS estimated at ~20¢/credit (Silver tier). Actual cost depends on credit bundle purchased. Reception Star: initial $19 one-time + 33¢ per appointment including SMS reminders. All prices AUD.

Cost comparison: Halaxy paid plan + SMS

Halaxy's paid plans ($29–$39/practitioner/month) add NDIS compliance, advanced automations, and faster support. SMS credits still extra on top.

Your week	Halaxy $39 plan + SMS	Reception Star
5 appointments/wk	~$43/mo	~$6.60
15 appointments/wk	~$52/mo	~$20
25 appointments/wk	~$61/mo	~$33
40 appointments/wk	~$74/mo	~$53

Halaxy $39/mo plan + SMS at ~20¢/credit. Reception Star: initial $19 one-time + 33¢ per appointment including SMS reminders. All prices AUD.

What Halaxy does well

●Genuinely free to start — $0 for scheduling, records, invoicing, and online booking.
●Built in Australia, priced in AUD.
●Medicare and DVA claiming integration.
●Good for multi-practitioner clinics with advanced needs.
●Active development with regular feature updates.

Common frustrations with Halaxy

Based on Capterra, G2, and SoftwareAdvice reviews (2024–2025).

×Credit system is confusing. Practitioners struggle to predict their monthly bill.
×SMS, telehealth, calendar sync, and claiming all cost extra via credits on top of any plan.
×Interface can feel overwhelming for solo practitioners — built for larger clinics.
×Onboarding is complex for someone who just needs calendar + invoicing + reminders.
×Credit pricing varies by how much you buy upfront — hard to budget.

Your patient data

Halaxy (formerly HealthKit, renamed in 2019 after Apple took the name) includes broad clauses in its privacy policy that permit aggregating and analysing practitioner and patient data In practice, that means your patients' health information could contribute to datasets you didn't consent to and can't opt out of. This has been covered in IT press and raised in competitor reviews.

Halaxy

×Privacy policy permits data use beyond direct clinical care
×Aggregated data may be used for research and analytics
×Encryption at rest (industry standard, not application-level)

Reception Star

✓Patient data encrypted before storage — we can't read it even when troubleshooting
✓No data mining, no analytics on your patient records, no aggregation
✓Immutable audit trail — every access logged permanently

API & automation

Automation tools and custom integrations need API access. Halaxy offers an API with webhooks — but it costs 150 credits per month (~$30 AUD) on top of your plan, just for the privilege of connecting your own tools to your own data.

Halaxy

×API access costs 150 credits/month (~$30 AUD) extra
×Credits consumed on top of SMS, claiming, and other features
×FHIR-based API — more complex than standard REST for simple integrations

Reception Star

✓Full REST API — read and write clients, appointments, invoices, payments
✓Real-time webhooks — get notified instantly when data changes
✓Included at no extra cost — no add-on, no credits, no separate subscription

$19 to get started. No monthly fee.

All features included. 33¢ per appointment. Cancel anytime.

Get started — $19

Money-back guarantee. No questions asked.

Not sure? That's OK. Halaxy is good software — especially the free tier. We just think there's a simpler option for solo practitioners who want everything included from day one.